When President Obama said that illegal immigrants would not receive health insurance, Congressman Joe Wilson called him a liar. Actually, he screamed it. Loud. Right in the middle of Obama’s speech. From the floor of the Senate. Live on national TV.

Like many Americans, I shook my head and said, “Damn it.” Maybe some Americans cheered. After all, Wilson’s outburst gave voice to the fears that many people have about the increasing size of our government. I might even applaud an interruption if Wilson had said, “But Mr. President, doesn’t this contradict your demand that all residents carry some form of insurance to eliminate the cost of unnecessary emergency room treatment? Can you clarify this now?” But in keeping with the Republican party’s flight from reason, Wilson called the President a liar instead.

Obama remained unruffled and delivered a measured speech that reminded me of the reason I voted for him in the first place. His rationale for holding a rare joint session was immediately clear: if we don’t have a reasonable reform bill by the end of the year, it’s your fault. Not mine.

Later that night, I went for a drive through the desert and scanned the AM dial. It didn’t matter what the President said — the airwaves remained packed with conspiracy theories and shrieking paranoia: we are bankrupted and capitalism is doomed; nationalized health care is the issue that put Castro in power; Pol Pot’s attempt to bring medicine to the lower classes led him to the killing fields of Cambodia; mark my words, this unprecedented expansion of government will lead to a dictatorship! We only need to look at Weimar Germany . . . the ability for the conservative fringe to simultaneously tag Obama as a communist and a fascist is breathtaking. And it makes for great radio.

This morning I awoke to see headlines and soundbites demanding Joe Wilson’s resignation and requesting that he be formally denounced and censured. No. Although Wilson’s outburst was an unrivaled piece of tacky and juvenile behavior, we should allow his constituents to judge it in the next election (and Wilson’s opponent has already raised over $100,000 in twelve hours). Better still, let it highlight the petulant child that the Republican party has become. Most of all, let Wilson enjoy his legacy as an embarrassing footnote in American politics. He earned it. But hearing other politicians and pundits demand that Wilson lose his job over something so foolish makes me nervous. The great thing about this country is that our representatives can argue with the President, stomp their feet, and occasionally act like buffoons without fearing for their political lives.